Friday, February 27, 2009

Bon weekend everyone!


I am obsessed with this photo and will spend the weekend trying to figure out how to get these colors worked into my new bedroom! That plus teaching Tulip to sit, walking in the park, copious amounts of studying, rocking out to Britney Spears (the concert is on Tuesday!!!!!) and church on Sunday will comprise my weekend.
Hope you have a great one!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Tulip doing what she does best: CHEW



Which, unless she is chewing on your fingers or toes (or pant leg or sleeve), is very cute.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Memo to Tulip: We don't eat beads. Or chicken!

Last night was my first night of Mardi Gras. It was incredible! So far beyond what I had expected. Everything was amazing - the floats, the marching bands, the excitement in the crowds.

It was also Tulip's first Mardi Gras. Yes, we decided to take our nine week old puppy out and about in the wild crowds. You know, to socialize her. It actually turned out to be a great plan. Jessica knew that the Thursday night crowd would be the most benevolent of the bunch (and they honestly were really good). We packed a little backpack with water bottles, a doggie water bowl, poo bags, a camera and we were off. We were able to park at a friend's house (thanks again, Crawfords!) and set off to find the perfect viewing spot. As we walked, anyone and everyone who saw little Tulip cooed and stopped to pet her. She was quite the belle of the ball! I had tons of fun screaming and shouting and scrambling to collect beads and throws. It was so fun. When the first float went by, I waved and cheered and Jessica shouted from behind me (she was holding Tulip) "Scream louder! Wave bigger! No, BIGGER!!" She was not kidding. The more I screamed and jumped and waved, the more and better stuff I got. I ended the night with a wreath of beads so thick it practically went from my shoulder to my chin, two purple plastic water cups (I have a strange addiction to that particular sized plastic cup), a squishy football which will be conferred to Tulip for playing, AND a Jester's hat with bells!!!!!!! The hat was so fun and I wore it the rest of the night. (Note: all that cheering and waving and jumping is hard work! Arms and legs are very sore today. Maybe some stretching is in order.)

Tulip's favorite throw of the evening? The people down the sidewalk from where we were standing were having a nighttime picnic, and would casually toss aside their fried chicken bones and french fry ends, to her extreme delight. I didn't see her in action as I was up front waving and shouting, but Jessica said Tulip was in puppy heaven. When I returned back to them after the float had passed, Tulip still had fried chicken bits in her whiskers and on her face and was contentedly licking her chops. The rest of the night she was on the lookout! Too bad for her she's never going to get fried chicken at our house!

All in all, it was a fantastic night. Jessica and I wore the new Mardi Gras polos I bought for us as a treat. We each saw people we knew in the crowds. Tulip was so well behaved. And BONUS, she was so tuckered out that she slept in until 7:20 this morning! (And really only woke up because I needed to take a shower to get ready for the day!)

It was a late night, and I didn't have time to load my pictures. They will come, I promise!!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Puppies like to wake up early. Me? Not so much.


My friend Chris once told me that since she had her baby boy four years ago (can't believe D is four!!), she no longer has any need for an alarm clock. I think I'm starting to understand what she means.

Along with standing up straight, my new year's resolution was to become more of a morning person. And by more of a morning person, I meant, like, not hitting the snooze button 3 times and not rushing to get to work on time.

hahahahhahahahahhahahahahha

If only. Tulip chirps every hour, on the hour, it seems, to please be let outside to do her ladylike business. She also wakes up at about 5:45 in the morning. And won't go back to sleep. Which means that I (because I have a very hard time hearing her in the middle of the night, quite mysterious) take her for her morning walk when she gets up while Jessica snoozes to make up for lost time during the night.

There are countless bonuses to getting up and outside in the morning. I'm teaching Tulip to run on the leash and she is the pefect running buddy (meaning, she likes to stop and rest about as often as my knee wants to). I've seen the sunrise two days in a row. I know what the weather is like, so can plan my outfits more accurately. And 5:45 is nearly three hours before I need to be at work, so I have plenty of time to not only walk the pup for almost an hour, but straighten my hair without rushing and drink my protein shake at a leisurely pace. I also go to bed much earlier now (because I'm tired much, much earlier), and manage put down the book (something I was never able to do before).

Except, sometimes, in the afternoon, maybe around 3:15 (meaning right now) I start to get a little sleepy. Think my boss would notice if I took a little puppy nap under my desk??

Home


I don't know if you can make out the word on that scuffed up blue key. It says "HOME".

Jessica made that key for me on a humid August night, and when she handed the shiny blue new key to me, I felt lost. I felt completely unsure about walking through the front door of that apartment. I felt completely unsure about walking out of the front door to my job interview. I felt frightened at night by the people walking past our windows, and was sure that something bad was going to happen to us. I felt hot (becuase it's hot here), I felt cold (because we blast the air conditioning). I felt like I had made the worst decision by moving here. I felt like I had made the best decision by moving here.

We moved into our amazing new apartment four days ago, and today I went back to that apartment to do the final close up. As I walked through the empty rooms, I remembered. I remember the first time I went to that apartment, during graduation last May (2008) and how we had all worked and cleaned and laughed and filled up the space with elbow grease and love. How merrily I cleaned that apartment, day dreaming about my new apartment in New York. What a different time that was. I remember the night Jessica asked me to live with her in that apartment. I remember our first night there, and how I didn't sleep because I was scared. I remember packing up literally everything we owned and driving away, evacuating for Hurricane Gustav. I remember learning which water handles made hot water and which water handles made cold water, because they were different at each faucet. I remember learning to deal with and get rid of all the extra roommates. I remember learning how to lock the front door, with its funny way of locking, and then learning to do it with one hand. I remember every time we made cupcakes. I remember learning how to make Jessica's amazing mashed potatoes. I remember learning which key went in the laundry room (the key closest to my car key) and which key worked on the second door (the one in the middle). I remember getting lots of practice parallel parking on the street, where the spots were usually smaller than I would have liked. I remember how awesomely big the bathroom was, and how conducive it was to two girls getting ready at the same time. I remember how much Drano we poured down the sink and when each of us learned how to use a plunger. I remember how we never sat down and ate a meal at the kitchen table (let alone off plates, we are bowl girls).

I remember all of it, each laugh, each tear, each excitement and each confused moment. I remember how many times I wanted to throw in the towel, and move back to New York. I remember how often I thought I had completely lost my mind. I remember that six months have passed since I moved here. I remember that I am a new person because I moved here.

Yesterday, walking home to the new apartment, someone stopped me and asked me for directions. I knew where they wanted to go and was able to communicate exactly how they should get there. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment from this simple exchange. I know that I am starting to belong here.

I can't wait to scuffle up my new, shiny key.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Nastia Liukin + BCBG = beautiful


I love Nastia Liukin.

I love BCBG.

Therefore, I love that Nastia Liukin has been asked to be the face of the Spring BCBG collection. The images are breathtaking. Enjoy!

Happy Monday!


I hope everyone had a splendid Valentine's weekend!

We packed and trollied and moved our belongings all night Friday night, in preparation for the guys from church coming move the big heavy items. They came, they moved, they assembled like champs, and we replenished them with juice and doughnuts. Everyone was happy.

E came to inspect our progress, bringing with him decadent Valentine's treats from he and A (thank you again! The raspberry chocolate mousse was especially scrumptious!) and then the three of us went on a rescue mission.

Any guesses what we were rescuing?


Anyone?

A puppy!!!!!!!!

I would like to introduce our little Miss Tulip Roberts!! We absolutely love her to bits. I'm sorry the photos are a bit blurry, but the pretty thing wouldn't pose for me.

She is 9 weeks old, loves to run wind sprints down the hall, loves to leap with abandon off the front porch, loves to flop on the floor by our feet, loves to earn treats by doing business outside, is learning to love her crate, and most of all, loves to play with sticks and leaves.

We are absolutely in love with her! She is the best Valentine's gift ever!

Friday, February 13, 2009

Hope all the celebs make it work!

I've just heard the most totally awesomely fun news that Tim Gunn is hosting this year's ABC Academy Awards Red Carpet special. He will be fantastic! I can't wait to hear what he has to say about all the frocks and jewels and lapels and shoes!

Tomorrow


We move into the new house!

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Gimme an L!



Love that the weather is gorgeous.

Love that I made it to the gym today.

Love that it's Thursday.

Love you!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

An open letter


Dear Restaurant Hosts and Hostesses,

I am very sorry that I am calling you three days before Valentine's Day, trying to make a reservation for the 7:30 seating. I am very sorry that everyone else in New Orleans made their reservations weeks ago and that I only got asked to make these reservations today. I am very sorry that I have to keep asking and pleading for you to fit in one more table-for-two for my boss's guests. I am very sorry that it's also Mardi Gras and by this weekend our city will be under seige by tourists.

Please stop laughing at me as soon as I start to say the words "this Saturday". It's not funny, actually, and since you are the 14th restaurant I've called today, I'm starting to get annoyed by it.

Thank you for your time, and you know what? I will have a great day - thanks for the well wishes.

Hugs and kisses,

Emily

Monday, February 9, 2009

Happy Monday

Hello all! Did everyone has a wonderful weekend? We did, down here in the balmy tropics. The weather this weekend was pretty magical - 75, sunny, not humid. Perfect driving-in-the-car-with-the-windows-down weather. I forget what I did Friday night...most alternated between reading the weekly mags and organizing/packing things to move. Saturday morning we met our aunt + uncle + cousins after L's tour of Tulane and swept them over to Sucre for gelato and giggles. It's always so nice to see family! After dropping them off downtown for French Quarter adventures, we began an adventure all our own, entitled, "Where to find lunch when you're starving and there's an hour wait everywhere." Ahh Mardi Gras (the first parade rolled Saturday night). We ended up logging a fair bit of the afore-mentioned window down driving, and ended up with Po'boys and cheese fries, a very nice treat at the end of a lengthy scavenger hunt. After that, we powered through Target and Lowe's for odds and ends for the apartment. The things large (like closets) and small (like striped bins for the bathroom that perfectly match the shower curtain) that will make our apartment just right.


Then we showered and gussied and tarted up for a fancy-schmancy art museum party. Loved the exhibit, a series of portraits of jazz greats by Frederick Brown.

Sunday morning, we met the fam for church (so fun having family to sit with!) and then we started the haul, which mainly consisted of our laundry because one of my favorite features of the new house is that the laundry is FREE!!!! We started running the laundry during the hauls, and we managed to get several loads over to the apartment and through the wash. (Except we forgot one critical part - which was that by washing all our towels and leaving them at the new house, we had nothing to use to dry off after our Monday morning showers. Yes, this was an awesomely fun realization to have last night at 11:30PM. We made do with paper towels and hair shammys. Go ahead, laugh, it's funny.) The weekend was finished off with Mexican food and Oreos and the Grammys, where we cheered on Jennifer Hudson, loved Justin Timberlake's impromptu performance, thought Kanye and Estelle were glitteriffic and were concerned for Rihanna.

{Photo by Mademoiselle Molly Fryxell's Flickr album}
I hope everyone is having a lovely Monday!

Friday, February 6, 2009

Exciting days ahead



One week from tomorrow we are moving! We are so excited. We have found a darling new apartment located right in the midst of a really fun, New Orleansy area. We stopped by last night just to say hi to the new rooms, and everytime we go we get happier and happier with our choice. I love new apartments because there are limitless choices and endless possibilities. What colors to choose, how to decorate. It's like you get to redefine yourself. The official moving day is next Saturday, but starting tomorrow we are going to deposit bins and boxes each day so that hopefully come next Saturday, the guys from church will only need to move the large furniture pieces. It'll be the best Valentine's Day ever.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Confidence, trust, respect, etc.


“Confidence grows at the rate a coconut tree grows; it falls as the rate a coconut falls.”
{Montek Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission in India}

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Red + White


Image from Clementine Press
I hope everyone is having a wonderfully {love}ly day! I have a tutoring session this evening and perhaps afterwards I'll stay up too late to watch Top Chef. I did get 11 hours of sleep last night, so maybe I can pull it off. But I also want to pull off doing yoga in the A.M., so we'll see. Choices, choices.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

I tweet you

A sigh of satisfaction

Today began bright and early at 5:45. Armed with an amaaazing blowout (thank you for making this a great hair day!) and my trusty black suit, I zoomed into the office at 7:15. Today was the day - the culmination of two months of planning and organizing. I can't divulge too much detail, so let's just say it involved a really famous person, Secret Service and a bomb dog. (Whose name is Madison and is so, so cute. And in high demand - just this weekend, she sniffed for the SuperBowl.) The event is all finished, and everyone has departed safely. I had a lot of help, but this was my project. And everyone has said what a wonderful job I did. I am a very, very happy girl.

Monday, February 2, 2009

January passes to February

Another great weekend has just passed and another great week has begun. At the end of last week, I started exploring a volunteering opportunity that I am very excited about. Friday night we went with E & A to listen to Shirin Neshat give a lecture on her art. She is an Iranian artist, who's work is feminist, political, strong and intense. She herself is a tiny hummingbird of a person, with the sweetest voice and wonderful sense of humor. It was great having the art explained by the artist, and I started to understand her point of view. Which is the entire point.


Photo from ISPhotography

And now February is upon us. We have big plans for Valentine's Day, yes indeed we do. Details soon to follow.


And the whole city is gearing up for Mardi Gras. Mile markers, portapots and special garbage cans are out on St. Charles. I've seen some grandstands, and the niftiest contraptions that involve ladders, wheels and bucket seats. Too hard to explain, I'll try to get a picture of them. And a few days ago in the park, we saw a group of people marching and dancing in rhythm. We could not figure out what they were doing, and then Jessica realized - they were practicing for the parade! Brilliant plan actually. Where else can a large number of people march around and around on a smooth surface while dodging other foot traffic? I can't wait for the spectacle that has been promised. And I've discovered that King Cake is delicious. Wickedly, addictingly delicious. Thank goodness it's not sold year round!